A Very Silvery Christmas
by Endles
Summary: Gold gets trapped in a blizzard on Mt. Silver, is rescued by Red, and decides to spend his Christmas with the other boy. Soon enough, they are joined by other familiar faces and things quickly heat up after a shocking revelation. A three part story about friendship, family and fame―and the good and bad within them. Established Red/Green, developing Gold/Silver
1. Part I

**A/N1:** I'd like to note that in my imagining of the pokémon world, Christianity as a religion no longer exists. Therefore "Christmas" in this fic is merely a name for a occasion that has outlived its original purpose. I am not trying to promote Christianity above other religions, rest assured.

-x-

**A Very Silvery Christmas - Chapter I**

-x-

Gold shivered and stopped to tie his yellow scarf tighter around his neck. His mum had sent it to him, when he had told her he was permitted the entry to Mt. Silver and that he'd be exploring the place in a few days.

_"Oh, but it's so cold there! I only hope you have a proper jacket,"_ his mother had sighed into the phone, before starting a rant about dressing warmly as the pre-teen boy had listened helplessly. In the end, she had decided it was necessary for her to send a scarf and a pair of gloves for her adventuring boy to wear. Gold had been embarrassed―he was off all on his own, he didn't need his mother's… well, _mothering_―but had accepted the clothes with a simple murmured thanks.

Now, as he was wading through the snow that came halfway up his shin, he felt eternally grateful for the gift. The snow on the mountain was different from the snow he was familiar with. It was different from the powder that would sometimes fall in New Bark only to melt after a day. It was different from the snow in Ice cave, the one he swore was blue and was endlessly mirrored from the ice that covered the walls and frozen underground lakes.

This snow—this snow was harsh, unforgiving. It wouldn't let him move forward, but it wouldn't let him turn back either. Gold sneezed and after some ten seconds the typhlosion following in his footsteps mimicked the action, though with much more force. Gold smiled apologetically at his trusty companion. The big fire pokémon disliked the cold, but at least it couldn't get cold like Gold could.

And he not only _could_ get cold, he was cold—freezing his ass, and several other parts of his body, off. Time after time he would start shivering uncontrollably and would have to stop walking in fear of falling over. Whenever he ceased his step, Typhlosion would let out a worried growl and trudge closer to him. After a moment of leaning against the large, almost hot, creature he could continue, feeling contently warm for a while afterwards.

The craziest thing in the whole deal was that he actually didn't even know why he was there. Yeah, he'd been there for a couple of days already, mostly a bit, or completely, lost. He'd walked and walked and crawled and ran and battled pokémon so strong that he hadn't even imagined such monsters could exist. He was thoroughly exhausted, suffering from frostbite and more than a little grumpy.

And all because of what? Nothing! Nothing at all, except professor Oak's words and some wild rumors and odd what-nots with no real meaning. Damn, if he'd ever deserved a cup of something hot and a comfy bed to curl and fall asleep in, it was now. And right now, it was the most unlikely to happen. The last time he'd slept under an actual roof had been when he'd left the deserted, save for the old nurse, pokécenter two days before.

He kicked a snowy lump, which proved to be a stone when his toe hit it rather painfully. He cursed aloud and Typhlosion made a noise, as if it was saying: _no use little human, no use._ Gold knew it was no use, he knew it full-well, better than anyone, but he was just so tired and cold and so very sick of the snow that clung to him and refused to let him go. Groaning with frustration he threw his head back and closed his eyes. Maybe if he stood there for a while and pretended he was somewhere sunny and warm the blasted whiteness would disappear.

Instead, he felt something soft and cold land on his nose. He slowly opened one eye and confirmed that, yes, it really had started snowing. He suppressed the urge to cry.

From the previous night, Gold knew that he would have to find some shelter, as the peacefully falling flakes would morph into a heavy blizzard. He looked around with worry nagging on his mind. They were pretty high up, and the occasional caverns had become more and more seldom as they'd climbed higher. It would've been blind-luck if he'd found any just by standing there ogling around. He sighed, not wanting to let fear overcome his determination. They'd simply have to keep moving forward, there was no other way. He enthusiastically stomped the first few steps, before his legs grew tired and he once more resorted back to slowly wading through the snow.

-x-

They went on and on without finding a cavern or anything else that could've been used as a shelter, and gradually the weather got worse. A strong wind blew snow on Gold's face and the pokémon behind him was growling with discomfort every two seconds. The young trainer tried his best to soothe the beast, to reassure it that they was going to be okay, but it was a futile attempt. Of course it was, when he couldn't reassure even himself. In the end he had to return the nervous typhlosion into its ball and go on without the company.

Gold thought about his options, as he waded on. His toes and fingers were numb from the cold, and he could hardly see in front of him for the storm. Flying away wasn't an option in this weather, not with his exhausted pokémon. There wasn't anywhere he could rest and spend the night and he would probably die of hypothermia on the god-forsaken mountain—alone.

He smiled bitterly at the thought, but moved forward nevertheless. He was an optimist by nature―even this seemingly helpless situation couldn't change that. He only pushed on harder, distracting his mind from the immediate danger.

He recalled his journey, how it had begun 11 months ago when he had only just been turning 15. He remembered how he'd felt real mature and like he already knew it all, turning fifteen and being allowed to go off on his own. Of course he could've started younger, his mom most likely would've signed the necessary permits, but he'd wanted to wait until he could feel truly independent. Now he was soon turning 16 and he kinda felt smaller than ever. The world was big, he had realized during his traveling time. He'd never know it all, but he would definitely try to see as much as he could.

Given that he could get down from this mountain.

Then he thought about the people he knew, subconsciously listing all the people who'd maybe miss him if he were to disappear now on this mountain. First off, there was mum. She was always so nice and beautiful and Gold really did love her. He had often wondered if she was doing okay, had been doing okay without him around all year. Of course he had called her, nearly every day in fact, but still it wasn't the same as waking up every morning under the same roof.

What about Lyra? He had known the girl since they'd been toddlers, and they were really good friends. He idly wondered if her marill had evolved, or if anything fun had happened to her since they last saw each other in Celadon City. That had been a long time ago, and though the girl had phoned him several times after, he kind of missed her cheery voice and smiling face.

Then there was Kris: Kris with her crazy hair and amazing meganium. He'd never actually met her before they both showed up at professor Elm's laboratory on the same day to get their first pokémon. In the beginning, Gold had felt kinda nervous in her company, humble in the way his mum had taught him to be around girls, but soon enough he'd realized that she would be a great friend, nothing more. And truly, Kris was wonderful, not as up-beat as Lyra but somehow similar, at least in Gold's opinion. They'd run into each other on various occasions during their adventures, and she had been loads of fun to hang out with.

Talking of running into people, Gold was suddenly reminded of one more person. It wasn't like he'd forgotten about him, no, more like he'd long since pushed the thought of him to the back of his head.

Silver—his rival on the route to becoming the best trainer in the region and beyond it.

The boy had come such a long way since the day Gold had found him lurking around the lab in New Bark, about to go off and steal a totodile. They'd battled each other many times, Gold always managing to pull the longer straw. Silver was ever as furious―blaming him of cheating, blaming his pokémon, and blaming himself too. But the last couple of times had been different; the red-haired boy was changing somehow, for the better. Gold liked to think it was because of him, because of his relentless endeavor at making Silver understand what raising pokémon was really about. In truth, it probably wasn't because of him at all. He'd learnt from Kris a couple of weeks ago that she and Silver had traveled together for a few months in Kanto.

Maybe the crude boy was just crushing on Kris, and therefore trying to become a better person in order to impress her?

Gold made a face. He could almost see what kind of kids the two would have―one side of their hair blue and the other bright red. He chuckled tiredly―it wouldn't work for those two. Besides, he knew that Kris was far too weird for Silver. She was calm and a bit boyish, but had some weird quirks of her own. Like reading crappy romance novels just so she could write down her own comments on the side of the page, and buying all her clothes from the flea market cause she wanted to save the planet. Silver couldn't care_ less_ for the planet.

Gold was getting sleepy by then, but he knew he couldn't lie down. He couldn't fall asleep because if he did, he definitely_ would_ die. So he continued occupying his mind with thoughts other than sleeping.

Yeah, Silver didn't care about the world. He didn't much care for anything else either, except mocking Team Rocket above everyone else―but Gold didn't really blame him for that, given his father and how the douche had more or less abandoned him once things went awry. That was a deep scar for someone to bear alone, and easily explained Silver's general distrust in humanity.

Yet, Gold smiled as he remembered, when they'd last met on Mt. Moon, the boy had spoken in a much kinder way than his usual I-detest-everyone-and-especially-you manner. And it had seemed like he'd taken better care of his pokémon too. When he'd lost, he hadn't even snapped; he'd just calmly taken the results as they were. And when Gold had run after him once he'd started heading towards the Pokémon center, they'd had a real talk, not just an argument.

It wasn't the first time they'd talked, since once before they'd even spent the night in the same room at crammed pokécenter in Celadon―that being the time Silver had finally revealed his father to be Giovanni. Still, Gold had a feeling that it was the first time both of them had truly and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. He remembered it like yesterday. After all, it was one of his greatest achievements.

It was weird, really. He couldn't stop wondering about the boy. Not in a creepy obsessive way, but rather like a worried friend. They weren't really friends―if only because Silver most likely hated his guts― but Gold still couldn't find it in himself to dislike his rival. If he was honest, he rather liked the snappy boy. He was extraordinary, one of a kind. Gold knew he wasn't a bad person, his past just made him act all tough. Beneath his core he was probably lost and confused and a bit scared. And the way Silver would pretend he didn't care when he so obviously did… Gold really wanted to get to know him better. He really wanted to become Silver's friend, become someone more important to him than whatever he already was, and tell him that he wasn't alone, not like he believed to be.

His mind was turning sluggish as he wondered on about his rival. Slowly but surely his steps became more and more sluggish until he stopped walking altogether. He was puzzled about it when he noticed―why had he stopped? Then his feet buckled underneath him, and he thought: _oh, that's why._

Before darkness took him he might've seen a flash of red, and that reminded him of Silver. He smiled tiredly and could see no more.

-x-

When he woke up, everything was a strange swirl of gray and blue with the light hue of orange mixed in it. He blinked once, twice, but the picture didn't get much clearer and he groaned as pain hit his body. His forehead was on fire, his eyes hurt and his feet were sore… actually he couldn't think of a place in his body that didn't hurt. For some minutes he just laid there, coping with the pain and willing it away, until it dawned on him: he was alive and he wasn't cold. He tried opening his eyes again.

This time it worked, and the picture cleared from the edges of his vision until he could make out his surroundings. He was in a cave, and in quite a large one at that―he couldn't see the entrance anywhere, nor could he feel the mountain breeze like he had during the previous nights he'd spent in caves. There must've been a fire somewhere near him—he couldn't move his head to see, but he could hear the silent crackling of it and the orange light was obviously caused by a fire. That explained the wonderful warmth that had enveloped him. Gold sighed contently—he didn't know where exactly he was or how he'd gotten there, but at least he wasn't outside dying in the blizzard.

Some ten minutes passed and his thought begun to make sense. He was becoming more awake and aware every passing second. His mind had just realized his stomach's dire need for food and hunger was nagging at his brain relentlessly. Soon it became impossible to ignore and so he turned to his side in the process of trying to get up. That's when he saw a boy he didn't know.

The boy was sitting on a pillow by a small coffee table—_table? Here?_—and reading something. He looked older than Gold himself, maybe around eighteen or nineteen. He had jet black hair that was short, but definitely longer and tidier than Gold's own. He was dressed in a red and white jacket and worn jeans, and his face bore an unreadable expression of indifference. Next to him, a pikachu was sleeping on the table.

As if he had sensed Gold's stare, the boy looked up. He had reddish brown eyes that looked… well, dead, really. Gold was reminded of a fish. He had those eyes, still eyes, and the look of someone who'd already seen it all, never blinking, never changing, but never fully there. Like he was looking straight inside him and at the same time couldn't see him at all, or didn't care. Gold swallowed.

"You're awake," the stranger said dully. Gold waited a few seconds for him to continue in some way, maybe explain what had happened or introduce himself to Gold, but nothing came.

"So, err," he started nervously. "You must've brought me here. Uh, thanks, I guess?" That staring was really unnerving, it would take some time getting used to.

The boy nodded. "Yes." Simply yes. He really was a quiet one.

Gold cleared his throat. "Well…"

His stomach growled then. For a second, the boy looked like he was alert, but then it disappeared. He did get up though. He didn't say anything, but Gold got the hint. He too got up, managing to do so with only minor stumbling, and followed after the other with slightly wobbly feet.

"Who are you anyway? You, I mean, I, no…" Gold silenced himself when the boy turned to give him a look that might've been amused.

"I'm Red," Red answered. "I live here."

There was nothing unnecessary in his short, but clarifying speech. He could've said quite a lot of things, like: _'oh, I'm a trainer, here's my pikachu!'_ (Just then Gold noticed that the previously sleeping pikachu had apparently hopped onto Red's shoulder when he had been getting up) or_ 'what a blizzard it was! You better be glad that I happened to stumble upon you, or else you'd be frozen solid like a glalie!'_

But really, those lines weren't needed. Because the second Red mentioned his name, everything came together with a terrifying crash in Gold's mind.

He was Red.

_Red._

All those people he'd met…

_"Red's been away. He hasn't called either, so I have no idea where he is or what he's been doing... They say no news is good news, but I do worry about him."_

_"I was the champion too for a while, though that was pretty short-lived thanks to Red…"_

All those rumors…

_"I heard the real Kanto champion is missing?"_

_"They say he's off training somewhere. Hiding from the challengers, you know?"_

It had led him to this.

Gold stopped dead in his tracks. He was shuddering, suddenly, and he was pretty sure it wasn't the hunger.

"Red," he repeated. "You're Red, the strongest trainer in Kanto."

It wasn't a question. The boy had turned to face him when he had spoken and now they were staring at each other in complete silence. The world stood still.

Red nodded.

"Oh," Gold breathed. _"Oh."_ Then he grinned. For what seemed like the first time in ages, he was actually glad. He'd found the guy he had sort of been looking for, but hadn't actually expected to find. He was warm, comfortable, and safe, and the master trainer was probably gonna give him some food. Life was good.

"Okay then." He smiled. "You got anything to eat? I'm starving! Really, I could eat a ponyta! Or maybe not a ponyta, but—"

Red looked at him oddly as he kept on babbling. But hey, he couldn't help it. This was him. From the moment he had woken up until now, he'd been walking in a daze. It was weird―he wasn't shy, he was used to waking up in odd places at odd hours (what time was it anyway?) but right then and there when he'd first seen Red he'd lost all his confidence. It was like the boy had eaten it all up with those strange eyes of his. Gold chuckled in the middle of a sentence at the thought and received a raised eyebrow in response. But now—now that he knew, it was like his bubble had been popped. Everything was back to normal. In the other boy's presence he felt like he could speak and joke and laugh and act like he always did.

And as he watched Red, and the way his expression remained coolly static but at the same time subtly, gently, almost unnoticeably changed, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could even like him. He'd heard so much about the boy―he was supposedly a genius with pokémon, a trainer whom no one had managed to best… yet. Gold had sort of secretly made that his dream. He wanted to be the one to beat Red in a battle one day. It was childish and incredulous to want to be the very, very best, and he knew it. But he couldn't help it. There would always come challengers and trainers better than him, but just for a while, if he could be the best in Johto, if he could beat the true Kanto champion, maybe then he'd be content. Maybe then it would be enough.

His thoughts were cut off, as the silent boy opened his mouth. "I have dry food," he said, and then probably surprised even himself with continuing. Maybe it was the influence of Gold's speech-flood. "My supplies are coming short."

He said nothing about getting more, nothing on how he got supplies in the first place, but Gold understood it was still a big deal. He smiled widely. "That's okay." He could definitely like this guy.

-x-

What Red described as 'dry food', turned out to be _real_ dry―dried fruits and crackers. He dug up cheese from somewhere, saying that it was edible. Gold was thankful for it all, saying he had never eaten anything so tasty. There was an amused glint in Red's eyes as the younger boy ate, and thanked him while he ate, and then ate some more.

"Seriously though, these—what are these?" Gold said holding out the dried yellow berries in his hand.

"Grepa berries," offered Red.

"Yeah, grepa berries, that's it! They, and these nuts together—" He paused to throw some of the berries and nuts into his mouth, his expression one of utter delight. "—it's heaven. I swear."

Red said nothing, but Gold could _swear_ he saw a hint of the tiniest smile twitching in the corner of his lips. He grinned and munched on happily, but after a while he had to ask the inevitable.

"Hey, by the way… How long did I sleep?"

He seriously had no idea. He felt well rested, that was for sure, but his inner clock was a mess. He didn't know what time of the day it was, or how much time had passed since he'd been brought here. The red eyed boy checked his wrist. He had an old fashioned watch, not one of those pokétches that were popular in Sinnoh and were swiftly spreading to Johto and Kanto too. No, it was a simple thing with a black leather wristband, and it disappeared almost as soon as Gold had caught a glimpse of it.

"26 hours," Red informed. Gold choked on a peanut. He had a violent coughing fit, during which Red got up—they were seated in some sort of "kitchen cavern"—and returned with a glass of water. Gold took it and drank until it was empty.

"26 hours?!" He spat out, feeling a bit outrageous. 10 hours he'd expected, maybe even 15, but 26? "So now it's, uh—"

"It's ten to eight, Friday evening." The older supplied helpfully. "You had a high fever. It took time for it to cool down."

"Right…" Gold muttered, silently wowing to never let himself sleep that much again. What a waste of perfectly good time.

After Gold had finished his meal, Red showed him around his home―or his living space, in any case. The cave was spacious, it's mouth like a tunnel that twisted and turned, effectively stopping the cold air from getting in. There was a smaller separate cavern, which Red had made his "kitchen", and in the larger space a trail down from one corner led to the lower sections of the cave where it was slightly cooler and there was an underground lake of perfectly clean water that Red used for drinking and cleaning.

Gold was full of awe and wonder―who knew that such habitable caves existed on the harsh mountain. There was even a wider area at the back of the cave, on a slightly lower level, where Gold could release his poor companions out of their pokéballs. Red offered to help him with the exhausted Pokémon, and so the two trainers treated them together. The champion brought them some food from his stock, saying that he had plenty enough to share. Or well, not exactly, but the older insisted on it, so he let him.

After some time, his pokémon were at full health once more and nearly glowing with happiness and so Gold returned them into their balls, save for Typhlosion, who always refused to get into one without a pretty darn good reason. Gold sighed with defeat and told the big creature to have it his way, warning him to behave lest he wanted to go without his favorite snacks in the future. Just then Red smiled, and it wasn't an invisible smile at all. It may have been small, but it was clearly visible. The pikachu that hadn't even once left the trainers shoulder cried out happily, and suddenly Gold was hit with a strange sense of belonging.

Although he'd been asleep for almost one whole day, he began to yawn right after they returned to the fireside. Sleepily Gold wandered towards the bed Red had made him the night before. Last thing that popped into his mind before falling asleep was that it was curious that Red had an extra mattress.

-x-

Morning came by and lazily Gold woke up. He opened his eyes and lay still for some three minutes until he had collected enough determination to get up and face the cold day. He couldn't see Red anywhere so he sauntered towards the entry, wrapped in his blanket.

The previous night, the blizzard had still been raging outside. Now though, as it was apparent from the almost unnaturally bright white light, the weather was clear. Gold was momentarily blinded by that light as he stood there, wrapping the warm blanket tighter around himself, blinking furiously. When he could finally make out the pristine scenery his breath was taken away.

The mountain had totally transformed. Gold had described it as unwelcoming, cold, and cruel. What he now saw was as far from those words as anything could get. The blizzard had left a cover of untouched snow everywhere, and it shimmered in the cool winter sun. The sky was cloudless and colored with the purest azure the boy had ever seen. The view was almost straight out of a Christmas card, except that Gold doubted any of those cards could even come close to such natural beauty.

He was brought back to reality as Red suddenly appeared next to him. Gold noticed the trail of footprints the boy had left in the snow, going somewhere out of sight before returning again, and grinned at his host.

"G'morning," he said, reaching to pat Pikachu on Red's shoulder. The electric mouse let him, and it made him smile even wider. "I'm almost starting to understand why ya wanna live here."

Red made a small sound of agreement—or at least Gold thought he was agreeing, since with Red you couldn't really be sure—but said nothing. That almost-a-smile of his was hiding in his eyes as he beckoned Gold to follow him inside.

"Speaking of living here," Gold started after a moment, "what's up with that? I mean, it's gotta be a great place to train, sure, but I've been to a lot of places like that. Places that are, y'know, more easily accessible and not on the top of a freaking mountain?"

He could swear Red was grinning but he said nothing and so Gold went on.

"Is it one of those eccentric genius things? Like how, I dunno, that one guy from Hoenn apparently tours the world in search of rare stones. Which is pretty damn weird if you ask me."

"Are you any good?" Red asked, stopping suddenly.

"Huh?"

Gold too paused and regarded the boy dumbly. He was avoiding Gold's eyes, staring into the far wall, his eyes shadowed by his mop of dark hair.

"At battling, you mean?" The boy gave a small nod. Gold laughed nervously. "Sure, I guess you could say so. I'm here, right? That's gotta account for something. And I think I saw my face on a magazine once or twice. Oh, and that one time―no, wait, a few times I've been on TV and―okay, y'know what, this is not the right way to do this."

He held his hand out. Red turned to eye him warily and he grinned.

"I know, I know, I already introduced myself yesterday, but I kinda withheld some information, so… Hi, I'm Gold Himawari from New Bark Town and I'm the current Champion of the Indigo League. Or I would be, but that's kinda discounting you and I'm not gonna to do that." Gold took a deep breath before continuing. "They say I'm good―great even, but that's not what I say. Cause I never once believed someone was good before I'd seen for myself. So, if you wanna know what I'm made of, I guess you'll have to test me."

He ended his speech with an earsplitting grin. Red sighed, which really alarmed Gold for all of five seconds before he realized there was a small but definitely real smile tugging at Red's lips.

"It's nice to meet you, Gold," Red said and took his hand. Their eyes locked. "I'm Red Pavot. And I will, eventually."

For a second, it seemed like that was all he was going to say. Gold was already about to drop his hand and move on when Red opened his mouth again.

"Do you… ever get tired of their looks?"

"Their―_oh_."

Once he realized what the boy meant by his question it was like a gate had been opened. All the questions he'd had for Red, all the mysterious connected to him… all those made a lot more sense. And all it had taken was a small moment of honesty.

Gold could see where Red was coming from, he totally could. But the thing was, he had always been very nonchalant about other people and anything they could say. That was more or less the reason why he got along with most everybody. And definitely the reason he got along with Silver, even before the boy had learned some basic manners and grown to be someone Gold was actually somewhat fond of.

So in that way, he'd never really seen it as a big deal when after he and Kris had busted Team Rocket's plans at Goldenrod they'd broadcasted his face all over national new. A few more people recognized his face when he came to a new town, no big deal. And then he'd gone and beaten the League and Lyra had flown to New Bark just to tell him that he was, as she put it, 'hot stuff'. He got interviewed a couple of times, but mostly he turned them down. Laid low. Sometimes either Lyra or Kris called him to say they were making up stuff about him on the entertainment channels. He really didn't care.

But it was different for Red, wasn't it? Gold had been lucky, in a way. He wasn't the only one taking the blunt for his actions. In playing the hero, dissolving Team Rocket and all that, he'd had help. In Mahogany there had been Lance, he was just the kid who handily happened to be around. And then there had been Kris and all those other trainers they'd teamed up with in Goldenrod. But Red―he'd worked his way undercover and fought the former boss of Team Rocket all by himself when the police couldn't. He'd become a sensation, nothing like the little peak of popularity Gold had experienced.

And what about the whole champion business? After beating Lance, Gold had only said he didn't really feel like taking up the post since he wanted to travel some more. The dragon tamer had promised him to call if someone ever got far enough to battle him and that was that.

But Red they hadn't let go off.

It kind of made him mad, even now. He'd watched the story go down on TV, he'd seen Red in the parade or whatever they'd held after his victory. He remembered the way his mum had gotten a really odd expression on her face and asked: "Say, doesn't he look kinda uncomfortable for someone who's just achieved their dream?" Gold had only agreed in that way kids often do without really understanding the whole picture.

Now, though? It kinda made sense.

Red hadn't asked for the fame. He hadn't asked to be paraded around. Maybe he'd just been in the right place at the right time. Or wrong, depending on how you were looking at it. Maybe he was actually just like Gold, a guy who'd only ever wanted to travel the world and meet new people and capture Pokémon. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe the reason he'd become a trainer and ended a crime syndicate and done all those things for completely different reasons, which nobody even knew of, because nobody had ever asked. All they had cared about was the boy in the pictures, the legend, and they couldn't get enough of that.

So everywhere he'd gone, Red must've been followed by countless stares that all looked right through him, never at him. And Gold could imagine why he hadn't been happy with that. Heck, he wasn't happy and he was only thinking it up.

Suddenly Gold remembered how it had seemed like everything stilled when Red had introduced himself the previous night. It must've felt like that for the other boy, too. Like he was waiting for Gold to start looking at him like at a freaking ghost or a war monument or something. But of course, he hadn't. Because Gold was cool like that and he'd much rather know people than rumors. The only time he'd ever actively listened to them was when he was trying to find hints of Red's whereabouts, and even then he'd only memorized the useful bits. The rest had gone straight out of the other ear.

Gold shifted his stance and realized that he'd probably been silent for waaaaay too long. Not that Red minded, what with his own quiet demeanor, but still. He deserved an answer.

"Eeehhm," Gold said. Or, more accurately, didn't say but the noise escaped his mouth when he opened it.

Red raised a brow.

"I mean," he tried again, cheeks heating up a bit. "I do. Sometimes I find it all really annoying. But then I remember that people generally don't care about you if you don't care about them. After that it's easy to tune out. At least, for me it is. And if it isn't, it's time for a change of scenery. Being home usually works, cause the people there don't expect any more of me just cause they've seen me on TV or something. They've known me long enough as it is."

A strange expression passed on Red's face and he finally dropped Gold's grip.

"I wish it were like that," he muttered and started walking towards the living area. "But I was an eevee, kept for what I would become, and everyone everywhere had a stone for me. I didn't want them. Didn't want any of it."

While Red was talking, they reached the fireplace that was crackling on merrily. Gold nested himself in his blanket by its side and tried to think of something to say while the older boy busied himself by producing a tea pot from somewhere and hanging it over the fire. He then brought over some of the nuts and grepa berries from the previous night, as well as some rye crackers. Gold helped himself to some, and together they waited for the tea.

"You disappeared." The younger finally said after realizing there was nothing else left to say. "You wanted to be rid of the looks."

Red hummed softly in agreement.

"Did it work?"

Silence fell over them. Gold waited nervously, afraid he'd completely screwed up the strange camaraderie they'd been working towards by asking something too deep and personal. He sometimes did that and the worst thing about it was that more than once he'd hit the nail right on the head without meaning to. Like when he'd confronted Silver about his loathing of Team Rocket before he even knew of his past. People never wanted to feel like they were failing.

Suddenly Red let out a long sigh. Not an angry one, or even sad, just―tired.

"I wonder if it did," he said. "Living here I feel free. That's why I do. But―"

Gold burrowed his brows. "Is it lonely?"

"No. Well… yes, but it's fine." Red shrugged. "Only, I don't know if it's really living."

He carefully picked up the tea pot and poured it into two cups, offering the other to Gold. They drank in silence, or more like tried to sip at the boiling hot drink without burning their tongues. Gold watched as the older picked up some grepa berries and began to feed them to Pikachu, one by one. The little yellow mouse made happy noises as it munched on the treats.

Gold cleared his throat.

"I'm not gonna say you should come down or anything, cause, well, it's a choice you gotta make on your own. But there are still people out there who miss you for being… you, I guess. More than you might imagine," he mumbled the end of his speech awkwardly. He was definitely not good at these kinds of heart to heart conversations.

Red threw him a curious glance.

"I've met your mum, y'know?" Gold went on. "She still believes you're alive somewhere, although they've already announced you dead, sort of. Officially, at least, though there's still rumors and whatnot that run wild. Anyway, she was pretty chill? Like, I went to visit her because Professor Oak told me to―no wait, first there was... damn."

He grinned sheepishly.

"I should just start at the beginning, right?"

The other just nodded, looking mildly intrigued.

-x-

And so Gold ended up telling Red pretty much his whole life story. Or at least the interesting parts. He began with the day he and Kris had first met at Elm's lab and how they'd met Professor Oak soon after, although Kris had most likely gotten more out of that initial meeting because she was a huge geek and Gold had only wanted to head out and train some.

He told Red about meeting Silver for the first time (second, technically, because the guy had tripped him over when Gold had been on his way to the lab) and the way the boy had used to be a really stuck up prick. At that point he also did his best to insist that the guy had changed pretty drastically (well, not really) since then, which seemed to amuse the older boy for some reason.

Then he skipped most of his journey, because hey training, battling, training some more, gyms… it was pretty much all the same and its only real value was in living it yourself. He did, though, recall in detail the encounters with Team Rocket and their plot to regroup in Goldenrod.

The way it all went down was still a mystery to even Gold himself―half the time he couldn't really believe he had been a part of it. What happened though, was that after Gold had accidentally been in the right spot at the right time to help Lance (whom Red recognized and acknowledged from his story) beat ass in Mahogany, he had, like everyone else in Johto, heard the broadcast on the radio. After which Kris had called him, saying that she was in Goldenrod and he should get down there because they were about to infiltrate the Radio Tower.

So he had and they'd organized a pretty nice counterstrike with the help of all the trainers currently lodged in Goldenrod, by approval of the police. During it Gold had a kinda nasty confrontation with Silver, where he'd accused the redhead of stooping lower than the goons of Team Rocket in his insistence of not becoming like them. It was a low blow, he had to admit in retrospect. But even if Silver had then punched his nose bloody and stormed off, somehow it had worked. Because the next time they'd met on the Victory Road, nearly two months later, Silver had seemed to be much less angry and actually quite reasonable.

Gold had rather enjoyed that battle.

Well, after that Gold had of course gone and beaten the league and then spent a week or so home after setting out again. Now that he finally had the time to sit down and think about it, he'd pretty much been constantly on the move since he'd walked out his door 11 months before. Which was kinda crazy but also kinda awesome. So much had happened during those months it felt like he'd aged years.

So, getting back to the story, Gold had landed in Vermilion and cleared through the Gyms in Kanto one by one. He'd ran into Silver a few times, most notably in Celadon wherein the boy had actually ended up spilling the beans about who his father really was.

At that point in the tale, Red looked up with the strangest expression Gold had ever witnessed on someone's face.

"He's… Giovanni's son?"

"Well, yeah. Raised by him until he was 10 or something, apparently, and then sent off to live with his aunt. Last time he saw the guy was right after he escaped police custody and disappeared. Said he came to say goodbye, or something," Gold explained. "Kind of a scary when you think about it. I mean, who would have though the guy even had time to have kids in between all that Pokémon trafficking and keeping up his front as a gym leader?"

The boy made a strangled sound. Gold frowned.

"Is something… wrong?"

Red coughed. "Never mind… Go on."

Gold hesitated but did as he was told. He continued with the latest battle between Silver and him on Mt. Moon (and at this point he realized that he was pretty much spilling all the details of his and Silver's interaction to Red, which was… weird, to say the least) and then his battle with Green Oak. And then he came to the interesting part.

"You see, when I was battling Green, there was this girl―"

"Leaf," Red supplied, apparently knowing perfectly well who the girl in question was.

"Yeah, Leaf. And after I'd won she and Green both said to me that I should drop by in Pallet. And I said why not, Kris was there working with Professor Oak and I wanted to see her anyway."

He held a small pause to let Red digest it.

"Well, me and Leaf went to Pallet and once there she started hauling me all over the place, talking about a million things but mostly about, uhh, you. Because she apparently wanted me to find you, though she wouldn't quite put it like that. We visited your mum and she told me the story of how you disappeared. Or more like, her own personal recollection of it. And it seemed to me… how should I put this… It seemed like she didn't blame you for running off, at all? And she wasn't sad like crushed in that way people who've lost their kids are on the television. It was just like she was waiting for you to come back whenever you felt like it."

He paused to collect his thoughts and let Red mull on it all.

"I wasn't initially gonna come and find you, not really," he confessed after a while. "Like it wasn't a dream of mine to battle the lost champion or anything. But then when I was in Pallet I started thinking… who is this guy? Should I really go and find him? And then what, battle him? Does he even want to battle anymore? Soon enough my head was so full of questions that I decided, you know what, screw it! I'm gonna find him just to make sure. And that's why I'm here."

Red smiled. More than smiled, he was almost _laughing_, as much as you could say that of him.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Red replied. "I appreciate the thought, that's all."

He was just about to ask what that was supposed to mean when suddenly the unmistakable ringtone of his pokégear rang out in the cave. Gold was surprised and somewhat impressed that the battery in the device had lasted for so long, blizzard and all.

Quickly, he scrambled up from his seat and ran over to where his stuff was laid out on the floor drying. Snatching the pokégear he peeked a look at the caller id: _"Mum 00400…"_

He almost swore out loud and pressed the dial button.

"Hey mum," he said in his perfected chirpy phone voice. "I was just about to call you, y'know?"

_"Darling,"_ his mother greeted from the other end. _"I know you weren't. But I'm happy to hear you're alright… I was getting kind of anxious, you know, what with no news of your whereabouts."_

"Hahaha," Gold laughed nervously. "You know me mum, nothing to worry about. I'm as healthy as a horsea. I was just so immersed in my training, I totally forgot to call."

Red totally made a face at that. Gold countered with a rude hand gesture and turned his back.

_"Well, that I'll buy! You've always been like that, after all. A mother knows her son."_ The son in question did a small dance for dodging that particular bullet―her mother would've likely had a fit if she'd known he almost froze to death and was miraculously rescued by someone thought to be dead. _"But even so, I do hope you still remember our plan?"_

He stopped dead on his tracks. His sweet victory had been short lived and dread replaced it like it had never left.

"Ehm," Gold mumbled nervously. "What plan you talking about, exactly?"

_"Gold!"_ Her mother yelped indignantly. _"You little rascal! Our Christmas plan, or course! You said you'd try and make it home!"_

And suddenly Gold remembered.

"Oh yeah, I did say that…" He muttered into the phone before something else came to his mind. "Wait… Wait! What day is it, today?"

He swirled his head around. Red pointed at the cave wall where there was a calendar, somehow hanging from the rock. Mentally he counted the days since he had came to the mountain, he'd been unconscious for a while too, and eventually he came to the shocking realization just as his mother supplied him with the answer:

"Why, it's already Christmas Eve. If you're not already on your way, you should hurry it up!"

Gold struggled with a response―honestly, he didn't know what to say. He had promised his mum to come home for Christmas, but now he'd found Red and he kind of didn't want to leave. Besides, he rather felt obligated to stay with the older boy. It was Christmas, and though the holiday was so old nobody even remembered its origins anymore, it was still a time when friends and family came together. Not as important as the New Year celebrations, at least not in Kanto and Johto (though he'd heard the situation was different in other regions), but still.

He took a deep breath and started walking away from Red, not necessarily wanting him to hear the conversation about to follow.

"Mum?"

_"Yes, darling?"_

"I think I won't make it home. Cause, you see, I'm on Mt. Silver now, like I told you. And I found… this guy who's been living here, and he kinda helped me out the other day when I was out training by letting me stay with him. He's got a nice little place here, fireplace and food and all. So, what I'm saying is…"

"You'd like to stay there for Christmas." His mother finished for him. "Oh, Gold…"

Well, she didn't sound mad. Gold decided to try and explain a bit more.

"Y'know, I think he's been here all alone and…"

_"Stop, stop, stop,"_ the woman cut through. _"You don't need to give me reasons. I understand. It's very nice of you, and I approve. Just, be careful okay? You can make up for this by making sure you're home for New Years. I was talking to Melodie the other day, you know, Lyra's mother, and she said Lyra will be home too. We were planning on taking a trip together to the Sprout Tower in Violet Town, so you'd better be there with us!"_

Gold grinned.

"Sure thing, mum, you're the best," he replied chirpily. "I'll come home soon after Christmas, so I'll see you then!"

His mum laughed. _"You're one ridiculous kid, but I love you. Merry Christmas, Gold."_

"Merry Christmas," Gold murmured. "I love you too, mum."

After that he tried to say his goodbyes, but just as he was about to hang up his mum came up with something else important that she needed to tell her son. This procedure repeated until finally, after a few more tries, he was able to end to call and return to his place by the fire. He still wanted to eat a bit more for… lunch, he guessed, as he checked the time. It was already noon―he'd slept late.

"So, I guess I'll be staying with you for Christmas," Gold said as he munched on some crackers. Red was sitting quietly by the fire, reading a book. "You don't mind, do ya?"

The boy made a small sound and shook his head.

"Good." Gold grinned.

He couldn't quite shake off his excitement. It was definitely going to be an unforgettable Christmas.

-x-

**A/N2:** Hello dear readers and merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! I promised someone a new fic for the holidays, so here it is―a monster of a story that has taken me, I kid you not, _four years _to finish. I've been working on this in sporadic bursts and most of it has actually been written during this past year. The beginning is old, almost ancient, but I hope it doesn't show too much.

So, there will be two more parts, which I'll get to posting as soon as I get them back from my friend/beta reader. Thanks mikomikono! I hope you stick around for the ride! And as always, thanks for reading, leave me a note if you enjoyed―or didn't. :)


	2. Part II

**A Very Silvery Christmas - Chapter II**

-x-

They spent the afternoon mostly outside. It was smart, Gold mused, to use the daylight on training. He got his own pokémon, Typhlosion and Noctowl, out and supervised their fighting, but mostly he just watched as Red's charizard flew rounds in the air and spat hurricanes of fire into the sky, marveling at the sight. It was really amazing when the large beast landed lightly like a little pidgey despite its bulk. Apparently Charizard, then a charmander, had been Red's very first own Pokémon, as Gold was surprised to find out a while into a conversation about fire-types and their training.

"Wait a minute," Gold puzzled. "You mean it's not Pikachu?"

The critter in question was poking around in the snow nearby, never trailing too far from Red's side. It was always following the trainer wherever he went and it was like Red didn't even own a pokéball for it. It wasn't really a miracle that Gold had thought the electric-type to be his first Pokémon, for sure.

Red shook his head. "Found him in Viridian Forest. He's been following me since."

Gold whistled, impressed. Pikachus were rare to come by and notoriously hard to tame. Evidently Red was some sort of a Pokémon whisperer, or at least one of those princesses from old tales with all kinds of creatures swarming around his feet.

"You're really something," he said and slapped Red on the shoulder. "I've had to work real hard to earn the trust of all my Pokémon, y'know. No freaky miracles like that."

The older boy looked like he was going to object. Then he merely huffed.

"He's special," he said, but didn't explain.

Honestly, Gold could see that the connection between the pikachu and his trainer was in many ways exceptional. First of all, Red didn't seem to give the little mouse any commands at all, not even while battling. The whole deal bothered Gold for a while, but after a few hours out in the cool mountain sun he thought he had it figured out.

Pikachu and Red were the same. Both just wanting to be free, to do things their own way and live in peace without any orders from others. They were kindred souls, and the reason why Red hadn't ever evolved his friend was because he wouldn't have wanted it himself. Although, Gold guessed, the mouse himself would've most likely denied the stone if it were ever offered one.

The kind of bond they had was something you only saw in movies. Like, Gold himself was pretty confident in his skills as a trainer and his ability to understand his pokémon. But even so, he couldn't claim to have that level of connection with any of his Pokémon. Only the one he had with his best buddy, Typhlosion, came even close.

And really, Gold would have loved to argue that it wasn't just Pikachu, who was special. Red himself was something alright. He had an intuitive way of training his Pokémon, of giving them commands, of living with them. It was like he was part Pokémon himself.

Which, really, was a curious thought and Gold instantly regretted examining it too closely. Some images you could do without.

Once the sun started creeping behind the slopes towards Kanto, the two boys and their pokémon headed back in. On the way, Red made them take a detour in order to collect some more fire wood. It was then that Gold noticed the older acting slightly antsy, even nervous. He kept doing double-checks of his surroundings, gazing out into to the distance like waiting for something to appear.

With their arms full of twigs they trotted back to the cave. Right by the entrance Gold noticed the footprints the older had left that morning. It hadn't snowed so they were still clearly visible.

"By the way, where did you go this morning?" he asked, having nothing better to say.

Red seemed startled.

"Scouting," he said, as if that explained anything.

"For what?" Gold pressed on.

The boy didn't answer. He sighed and let it slip. Red had reached his quota of pleasant conversations for the day, it seemed.

Inside, they got to rekindling the fire. The cave was still somewhat warm, but the warmth would soon be gone without the dancing flames. After that, it was time for baths. Or washing up, in any case. They warmed a cauldron of water on the fire and dragged it down to the underground lake to mix some washing water of a tolerable temperature. Gold had his own bucket, but unfortunately he used far too much of the warm water at one go, and towards the end had to settle for the pure, cold lake water.

Red dragged him up to dry by the fire and Gold swore if Red were more talkative, he would've given him a rant on the effects of freezing water fine enough to make his ears ring.

Gold was just digging through the bowl of berries when suddenly a noise came from the entrance. Had it been any different, he would've dismissed it as something made by the wind or a howl of some wild pokémon, but not this noise. Because he was willing to bet his life savings that he had heard someone s_neeze_.

"What―" he managed to get out, before Red was up and walking. Gold scrambled after him.

And there, on their doorstep, as much as a cavern even had one, were two people, covered in snow. It had probably started snowing again while they'd been down by the lake. Gold took two more steps forward and stopped, gaping. He knew those people. Both of them!

"What the fucking―" swore the shorter newcomer, eyes darting about the cave like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Gold could totally relate to that, because honestly, an inhabited cave on the most uninhabited peak in the whole of Kanto and Johto. Then his auburn eyes spotted Gold and the look of disbelief swiftly morphed into that of surprised anger. "_You!_"

"Hey Silver," Gold started, but it came out dull. Frankly, he was still stunned. But he tried again.

"Fancy seeing youuu…uh?" He trailed off mid sentence. "Wait. _Wait._ Green?"

Because yeah, Green Oak was standing right next to the redhead.

"Yo," the Viridian Gym Leader greeted him with a wide smirk and a wave. "What's up, losers? Guess who brought cake?"

Gold stared dumbly.

Red―he stared too, though not at Green. His eyes were fixated on the other newcomer, a blank expression on his face. Now, more than ever, he resembled a fish.

Silver, though, didn't appreciate being ogled, and decided to put an end to it in his usual charming manner by cursing a blue streak and marching off into the cave. Which was admittedly very rude, considering that he had no right to step into someone's home just like that, uninvited. Then again, it was Silver, and Silver rarely concerned himself with such trivialities.

Without another word, Red turned on his heels and followed Silver, leaving Gold alone with Green and the still present confusion.

"Hey, Gold," Green waved his hand in front of him. "Still on this planet?"

"Huh―yeah," Gold sputtered. "What in Mew's name is going on?"

Green laughed and dropped the full backpack Gold hadn't even realized he was holding. "C'mon, there's a semi-heavy parcel still waitin' in the entryway. Help me with it an' I'll explain."

He turned and Gold had no other choice but to follow him. Together they carried the parcel inside and started unpacking the stuff inside it and Green's backpack. It turned out they were full of food and other supplies and just like that everything made a whole lot more sense.

"So you've been bringing him supplies for how long, exactly?" Gold asked mildly enough. Green's reply, though, had him more than a little bewildered. "Let me get this straight, then… you've actually known the whole time that Red, one of most well known missing persons of our time, is not missing at all?"

By the end of his question, Gold's tone had risen by two octaves. Green still remained rather nonplussed.

"Not only that," he replied while stacking some crackers into one of Red's storage baskets. "I've been keeping him alive as well," he paused his hand, lips twitching. "Well, me and Leaf. She took care of the nagging like a mother hen, I took care of food and stuff. Red got the best of both worlds."

"Seriously?" Gold deadpanned. A rueful grin was his only reply. He groaned, the conversation fading into a contemplative silence for a few minutes while they stacked Red's baskets full of food and other necessities.

Gold had questions, yeah, but as he thought on it they started to sound more and more useless. There was no point in asking why they hadn't told anyone, informed the authorities or anything, because he could guess perfectly well. Red, the icon for all pokémon trainers of the continent, was a kind of a big deal, had been even before his disappearance and fast fading into a legend. But Red, the person, wasn't someone who liked being the center of all that attention. Of course he would've wanted to disappear, and frankly, that would've been quite difficult to manage by yourself.

"Did you wanna do it?" Gold asked then suddenly. Green blinked and the younger hastily began to clarify only to be cut off.

"Ah, that depends," the gym leader drawled. "I didn't wanna do it per say, because it was a dumb fucking stunt to pull. Leaf, by the way, agrees with me wholly on that. But why we both did it despite that, well…" he paused to smile a bit bitterly and shake his head. "She did it cause she felt like she had no choice. Red would've gone off, with or without our help, and she felt better knowing he wasn't actually out there, god knows where, starving or some shit."

"And what about you?"

Green shrugged. "I guess I just… it just felt fair. Like, while I didn't wanna be involved in something so crazy, on the other hand it was what Red wanted. So, y'know, I wanted to do that for him. Didn't use to be the bestest of best friends, and this time it just felt right, so I figured: fuck it, I'm gonna do the proper thing and help."

There was a strange look in his eyes as he spoke. Gold couldn't completely understand what had happened between the two pallet trainers to make the brunet react in the way he had, but from the unusual humility on his face as he explained, he figured it must've been a tremendous step for the better. It was clear that their rivalry, which had been pretty heated from what could be deduced of old newspaper articles and such (what could Gold say, he'd used to collect stuff connected to Red as a kid―he was a fan), had dulled down into an easy sort of camaraderie. It seemed nice.

Suddenly, the whole thing made him think about his own redheaded rival, currently off somewhere deep in the cave with Red. He wondered if they could ever achieve the level Red and Green had reached, or if their acquaintance was doomed to remain hostile until the bitter end. The thought made him shudder―he didn't want that, not really. No matter how he thought Silver could be impossible, no matter how Silver might probably hate him, he wanted them to keep nurturing the respect they'd both found for each other. And for that to work, well―maybe he needed to take a few extra steps and stop holding onto old animosities. Arceus knew it was easier for him to do than for Silver. And if he could let go of the bitterness and admit that not only did he kind of like Silver, but also considered him a friend, maybe Silver would realize the same, mellow down a bit and start opening up, not only to him but to the world.

It was an ambitious idea―but seeing how Green and Red had managed gave him hope. It didn't matter that Red was scooped up alone in a cave on top if the world's most secluded mountain, not when he still had people waiting for him to sort out his, well, problems and return. Gold smiled lopsidedly to himself, and decided in his mind that he would wait for Silver to get down from his personal mountain, much in the same way.

Which reminded him―how was Silver even here?

"Hey, uh," it felt weird to open his mouth after the long, thoughtful silence that had fallen on them after Green's admission. Still, the older boy perked up at Gold's words, having just finished unloading the last of the dry food. "I get that you were gonna come here anyways, but how come you brought Silver along? What's up with that?"

"Hell if I know," Green smirked. "I was flying here on Pidgeot's back when I saw the guy wandering out on the mountain trail. Dropped down to ask if he was lost, got yelled at, and then had to rescue his ass from nearly falling off a cliff. Caused quite a detour for me, it did. But in the end, I couldn't just let him go off on his own, seeing as he wasn't properly equipped for the environment. Dragged him here by half force."

"Huh," Gold muttered. He could only guess what Silver had been doing there in the first place. He had thought the guy was off in Blackthorn, training under Lance, who'd offered to mentor him, and it wasn't really like Silver to change his plans.

Except―wait, maybe he did know.

"I told him I was coming here, when we met on Mt. Moon," he spurted out. "To look for Red."

"You think Princess there," he beckoned to the living area and suddenly Gold realized that the other two trainers had returned from the lower levels, "was trailing you to―what, watch the battle?"

"He, uh, likes to stay on the same line with me. I guess he must've wanted to check whether I had succeeded or not," Gold finished in a quiet tone. They were a way off, but he didn't want the redhead to hear them talking about him.

Green looked amused. "And he couldn't have, y'know, called, like a normal person?"

Gold shrugged. "Silver doesn't really do normal. Besides, I don't think he saved my number when I tried giving it to him."

The older chuckled, shaking his head. "You two have it bad."

Gold bristled at what the gym leader's statement seemed to imply, but didn't have the chance to retort because Red stepped into the kitchen, efficiently stopping the conversation with his presence alone. Green immediately turned towards the silent boy and offered him his undivided attention. Red nodded to Gold, grateful, and then he too turned his eyes on Green and just like that, Gold realized, he was discarded from the situation. He snorted, thinking how much truer Green's statement was in regard to himself and Red, and walked off.

Last thing he heard was Green rambling about all the foodstuffs he'd brought while Red hummed appreciatively.

-x-

Silver was sitting by the fire, a weavile by his side, looking grim. Or maybe not grim―more like prissy. Gold donned an apprehensive grin and trotted closer. For half a second he entertained the possibility of sitting next to the boy, but decided that it was brave enough to approach the sleeping ursaring―no reason to poke it.

He sat down on the opposite side of the fire place, staring idly into the flames. A few times he glanced up at the silently brooding boy, but didn't open his mouth. If Silver wanted to talk, he would. Normally, Gold could admit, he wouldn't have had the patience to wait for his rival to come around, but tonight he felt the need to make the effort. It was true that Silver needed to come out of his shell, but after spending time with the even more private Red, Gold realized that he needed to look at the whole thing differently, with a more understanding eye. It wouldn't do any good to keep prodding for more, not until the other was ready to give out willingly.

And to his surprise, eventually, his new strategy paid off. Silver maid a frustrated noise in his throat and shifted slightly, turning just slightly more towards Gold.

"So I guess you still haven't beaten him."

The way Silver said it made it seem like he didn't really care, one way or the other. But when Gold looked carefully, he could see the strain on the boys brow and the way he kept wrinkling his sleeves, nervously. It clearly mattered―if Gold could beat Red in a battle it meant that he would rise to whole new level as a trainer. Silver didn't want to be left behind.

"Nah," Gold replied, grinning sheepishly. "Haven't had the guts to challenge him properly. You should see him when he trains, it's outta this world―like he can communicate with pokémon telepathically, or something. Spooky, really."

Silver snorted, but the pressure around his eyes eased considerably. He even spared a look at Gold's direction, momentarily locking eyes with him. Absently, Gold realized that Silver's eyes were a really reddish auburn, almost like Red's, although much more expressive.

"Yeah, I can imagine," the redhead muttered, a small smirk on his lips. "Especially the part with you chickening out."

"Hey," he retorted. "Like you're one to talk. What happened to training with Mr. Cape?"

Silver shrugged, for once not taking the bait. "Decided he was dick and came here―the environment is better for training anyway, toughens you up quick."

"Yeah… I guess it does."

Gold's mind was screaming at him to pry more on the subject, but he bit down on his tongue and kept quiet. They fell into a for once comfortable silence, broken after a while by Silver―it must've been a record for him, taking the initiative twice during a single conversation.

"So," he cleared his throat, "you're not going back home for the holidays, like Kris?"

Gold almost grimaced―of course Silver would know about the girl's plans, what with practically being her boyfriend and all. He still thought it was a bad match.

"I was gonna," he said, managing to keep his tone in check. No need to be hostile when the other boy was clearly trying not to be. "But with roaming the mountain and getting caught up in a blizzard and sleeping a day after being rescued by Red, I kinda lost track of time. Told mum I'd drop by for New Years to make up for it."

"Wait," Silver wore a strange expression as he spoke, "you mean you almost froze your ass off?"

Gold stared, unable to name the emotion on the other boy's face. "I guess I did… Am not proud of it, but it could've gone a lot worse. It's good Red was there."

Silver cursed loudly, causing the napping weavile that had climbed on his lap to stir. "Are you really an idiot or just damn good at pretending? You seriously could've died!"

Suddenly, shockingly, Gold realized that the boy was actually concerned.

"I know," he replied, unusually calm and serious. "I've thought about it a lot."

It was true―the chill of realizing how much of a close call it had been kept nagging at the back of his mind. He kept pushing it back though, not wanting to let the fear paralyze himself. The best he could do was to swear that he'd never let himself be as stupid in the future.

When he told Silver as much, the boy groaned and shook his head, cussing him out a bit more. It was annoying, since from what Green had told him, Silver himself hadn't been much better off, but on the other hand, Gold felt oddly touched. No matter how Silver might sneer and jest and claim to dislike him, he obviously cared enough to not want him dead, and to even be worried at the prospect. It made Gold feel… light, somehow.

"It's not like I'm leaving before you've had the chance to win against me like you keep saying you will," Gold started playfully. "So, I'm basically never gonna die."

Silver flushed angrily. "Oh, fuck you. I'm gonna get you when you least expect it."

"That a promise?" Gold asked, good-humoredly.

"Yeah," Silver swallowed, suddenly far calmer than just seconds before. His eyes locked with Gold's, the determination in them burning bright. "I promise I'll give you the battle of your life."

Gold grinned, despite the shivers running down his spine. "I'll be waiting then."

After that was settled, Gold was finally beginning to think he could maybe ask Silver some more personal questions, like whether he'd had any Christmas plans with his family―which he knew to be a touchy subject at best―but before he did, Green appeared next to him, carrying a tray of what appeared to be cups and a―cake?

"You _really _brought cake?" he asked, incredulous. The older just huffed a laugh. "I thought you were kidding!"

"Of course not. I always bring cake on Christmas Eve."

He set down the tray on one of the tree stumps that functioned as tables, and used a stick to pick up the kettle that had been warming above the fire, pouring some hot tea in the mugs. Red arrived with four plates and a knife, holding the latter out for Green to cut the cake with.

"Huh," Gold commented as he was handed a thick slice and a hot mug of tea. "We never had cake like this on Christmas. Is it a Kanto tradition, or what?"

Red, who'd been passing a plate to Silver, paused, and glanced at Green. Silver took the chance to grab the plate on his own, handing it straight to his now awake weavile. Apparently, he didn't like sweets. Red didn't seem to mind though, handing him the tea cup next, which Silver actually accepted with a surprisingly grateful nod. Whatever the silent male had said or done to him before, while fetching him back from the lower levels, had evidently left an impression.

"Actually," Green murmured, bringing Gold's attention back to the conversation, "it's a birthday cake. For Red."

Gold gaped like a magikarp, swirling around and staring at Red with his eyes round.

"Today's your _birthday_?" He cried. Red merely nodded. "Why didn't you say anything? I haven't even congratulated you!"

The older shrugged. "It never came up."

Gold sputtered, whereas Green laughed and sat down on the log next to him.

"That's Red for you, kiddo," he snickered. "He won't even accept presents, though that doesn't stop Leaf from sending them. Which reminds me," he nodded at Red, "I have one for you still in bag. You want it?"

Red simply made a face.

"Oh c'mon," Gold groaned. "It's your birthday, plus Christmas! At least in Johto we give presents during the holidays, it's just not the same without them… right, Silver?"

The red-haired boy seemed startled by being suddenly pulled into the conversation. Still, he retaliated quickly and sneered―at nothing in particular, it seemed.

"How the hell should I know? I've never gotten one."

Gold immediately felt terrible. He hadn't meant to gloat, only to make Silver feel more involved. Of course he should've known that Silver's childhood hadn't been like his, since the guy had spent most of it in foster care. He really needed to make up for it, but given the boy's bitter answer, he couldn't think of anything to do.

"Shit, princess," Green muttered, apologetic despite the nickname. "Even I have, an' all my friends think I'm bit of a jerk."

He threw a nervous look at Red, who seemed to hum in acknowledgment.

"You know what―" Gold started, not really knowing himself what he was about to say, but fortunately he was interrupted.

"You can have mine," Red said.

Everyone froze. Gold counted the seconds before the explosion. 1… 2… 3…

"I don't fucking _want _your presents," Silver hissed, anger swirling in his eyes as he glared at Red.

Red looked perplexed.

"Look, he―" Green began with burrowed brows, but was cut off by Silver's angry snarl.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "I don't care about any of it. You can keep your―your_ pity_ for yourself."

"I don't pity you," Red said suddenly, fast and clear. "I never got presents as a kid, either. I'm not used to it but people keep insisting. I just thought maybe you'd like one, as an experience."

Gold didn't know what was more surprising, the fact that Red had spoken so many words without prompting, or that Silver actually seemed to buy Red's explanation, visibly deflating from where he'd almost sprang up from his seat.

"Well, I don't," he snapped, but remained rooted to his spot.

For a second longer, everyone remained tense. Eventually though, Gold decided that something needed to be said to break the awkward silence.

"So, uhh…" he trailed, and immediately the three men―boys?―turned their attention to him. Gold swallowed slightly nervously, not actually having planned what he was going to say in advance. Then his eyes landed on Red's and he had an idea.

"How come you didn't get presents?" he asked, addressing it to the silent male.

Red's gaze darted towards Silver, gauging the redhead's reaction. Silver, for his part, remained scowling, but didn't seem as offended as before.

"Didn't have the money," he finally said, simply.

"Oh yeah, your mum raised you alone, right?" Gold nodded, finally biting into his slice of cake. "She must've worked hard."

Red hummed softly. At his side, Silver relaxed just the tiniest amount. It was almost unnoticeable, but Gold had practice with watching for Silver's responses. And besides, it was what he'd been planning on―making Silver see that people might not be shoving their good luck in his face by offering help. It's not like Red had much to give from, either, like Silver himself. It did the boy some good to realize that.

"Yeah," Green commented then, slurping his still hot tea. "Red's mum is a real fighter. She was always letting me and Leaf stay over, even if we were a huge bother. It's so strange to think she ever had anything in common with Red's dad, cause Arceus knows that guy was a huge dick."

Red glared at Green, as if he hadn't wanted for the man to reveal anything of the sort. It didn't matter much, because the brunet had apparently over the years developed the ability to ignore negative attention completely, sipping his drink like nothing was wrong.

Gold though, was confused. "Wait, but when I met Red's," he turned to look at the boy in question, "I mean, your mum, she spoke fondly of him?"

Red's expression was strained, as he replied: "He changed."

Green nodded in agreement, stuffing the last of his cake into his mouth.. "For the worse."

"Huh," Gold muttered, glancing briefly at Silver. The guy was turned slightly away and seemed to be absorbed in tickling his weavile―_seemed_ to be, because Gold knew for certain he was listening. There was no way Silver could drone out talks of bad fatherhood. "Well, fuck that guy."

Green chuckled slightly. "Exactly… though, I still can't believe he went on to become a fuckin' criminal. I mean―who does that to his family?"

Gold felt his mouth drop open just as across the fire Silver raised his head.

"Who―_what?_" It was the best he could manage in the state he was in. So Red's dad was on the wrong side of the law? Gold himself had wanted to bring attention to the ways in which his situation was similar to Silver's, but that was one hell of a coincidence.

"Yeah," Green replied, and finally turned to look at Red as if to ascertain he wasn't stepping on any boundaries by making these revelations. Gold rather thought it was far too late for that now, but beneath the mild uneasiness, perhaps stemming from being the center of attention for so long, the quiet boy didn't seem offended at all. In fact, he almost looked resigned―as if Green had full rights to his life.

And then the gym leader dropped the_ real_ bomb.

"I guess it's lucky he left and they never got married, cause Red's dad is actually the boss of Team Rocket."

Later on, Gold swore that his brain stopped functioning for at least half a minute.

After which he was abruptly roused by the shouting match going on between Green and… Silver. _Silver_, whose father was Team Rocket's boss as well. Oh mew―what was even going on? Helplessly Gold looked around.

"―think this is some kind of a sick fucking joke, because I'm not laughing!" Silver was standing up, turning crimson from shouting and staring at Red while looking furious, shocked, betrayed―_broken_.

Although in a much subtler and less angry manner, Red's expression conveyed a similar state of mind. He too, had risen from his seat and was shifting on his feet, as if he didn't know who to turn towards―the agitated redhead or the―well, the equally agitated brunet. Green, as it seemed, was doing his best at countering Silver's accusation of being liar on Red's behalf.

"―fucking want to brag with things like these, cause I think not!" He was pointing angrily all over the place as he yelled. "You take that stick out your ass, princess, cause people can't choose―"

"You think I don't fucking know that?" Silver cut through. "I know it better than any fucking upstart, but you just wanna take it away from―"

_"WAIT!"_ Gold screamed jumping up, suddenly fed up with it all. "Just _STOP!_"

The two men stared at him like he'd grown a second head, but luckily―thank Jirachi for small miracles―shut up. He took a shuddering breath.

"Do you even know why he's shouting?" He asked, addressing the question to Green.

The man scoffed. "I don't fuckin' know, maybe cause he's a self-righteous pri―"

"No," Red said sharply, stopping the other mid-word. "He's not."

Gold nodded gratefully at the boy, who was eyeing Green reprovingly. "Yeah, he's not. Far from it. Silver," he turned towards the boy, putting on a careful expression. His rival, for what it was worth, snapped to attention, manic auburn eyes finding Gold's. "I know this is weird, like really fucking weird, but you should, y'know, tell them, yeah?"

He must've sounded so dumb, stammering nervously like he did, but miraculously it seemed to be the right kind of approach. Silver made a strangled sound in his throat and let his eyes fall to the ground.

It took a few seconds, but once he started talking his voice was considerably less angry, if not really any calmer.

"Giovanni is _my _father," he mumbled efficiently shocking―well, only Green. Because Gold already knew and he had unknowingly spilled the beans to Red the day before. "When I was young he only pulled me along without really caring what I did. And in the end he just left me, the bastard. But," his voice turned really quiet, "he was my dad and I could―I could convince myself he was doing it for me."

Gold shuddered with a start. There was no way, but―Silver was crying. The realization hit him like a blow against his face. The boy had always been proud, despising any sign of weakness and now―now, he was breaking down in front of them.

"But… I guess he wasn't. Of course he wasn't, not with the way he always kept gazing at those old photos." Silver raised his tear streaked eyes and glared at Red, who for his part had probably never looked as apologetic. "He was doing it for someone better. Someone he didn't want to bring down to his level―not like he'd brought _me_."

Red opened his mouth. "I―"

"Fuck you," Silver spat. "You never knew him. You never knew what it was like. You don't get to feel sorry for yourself. Don't get to feel sorry for me."

"I'm not," Red whispered. "I swear."

Silver shook his head. "No," he muttered bitterly. "You don't care. You don't _get_ to care. I don't know you. I don't _want_ to know you. I―" He shuddered. "_Fuck._"

Then he grabbed his head and let out a scream. Red winced, his hand coming up to brush against Silver's shoulder as if involuntarily. The younger reacted instantly, smacking the offending limb away and, after a still moment, running off with Weavile on his tail.

The remaining three by the fire side shared a shocked look.

"Well," Green said after a moment. "Fuck."

Gold snorted. "Couldn't have put it better." Then he let his gaze fall on Red―the guy was, after all, probably a lot more shaken up than they were, staring into the darkness where Silver's back had disappeared to.

"Hey, uh, Red?" he asked tentatively. "You―well. I know Silver, at least I think I do. And he always reacts really violently when something hurts him and―and this must hurt him really bad. But," he took a breath, "it doesn't have to. And I think he's gonna notice that soon enough. You've done nothing wrong. It's not like you knew about Silver any more than he knew about you, yeah? I think… I think this could turn out to be a good thing. For Silver, I mean. He thinks he doesn't need family, but―but maybe he does."

By the end of it, Red looked weary but he'd turned more towards them―edging closer to Green, Gold realized. Green, for his part, took it further by grabbing the silent boy in a one-armed hug.

"Maybe you should go look for him," the brunet said to Gold. "And… well, damn, just tell him I'm really fuckin' sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at him. I swear I had no idea."

Gold nodded. "I know… and I'll try."

He didn't particularly want to go and bother Silver―the boy most likely wanted to be left alone. But then again, perhaps he had been left alone for far too long already. Perhaps it was time to show him he didn't need to be, that he had friends―Gold was already getting used to calling himself Silver's friend―and that he could have… family. Could have someone who could relate to. Someone who could support him. Someone he could support. Red and Silver could hate on Giovanni together and share their experiences and whatever brothers did together, it wasn't like Gold knew.

But more importantly, he didn't want to be in Red and Green's way when they so clearly wanted to be left alone. Although Gold felt like he'd grown close to the black-haired boy in the short time he'd spent on Mt. Silver, it was obviously not his place to comfort him―not when Green was there.

With those thoughts swirling on his mind, he turned and headed deeper into the cave, in search of his rival.

-x-

He found Silver right where his gut told him he'd find him―in the part of the cave where his and Red's pokémon were resting, curled alongside Red's snorlax. He had even released all of his own friends, and the pokémon were nesting all over him, pushing against him from every direction. With the boy's eyes being closed, it looked like he was sleeping on a bed of pokémon. It was enough to bring a small smile to Gold's lips, despite everything.

"Hey," he greeted. His own pokémon raised their heads, Ambipom scuttling over to him and poking his calf happily.

Silver merely blinked and leveled him with a passive stare. "What do you want?"

His eyes were red and puffy. Gold lowered his eyes and reached down to pull Ambipom up onto his shoulder.

"I just wanna talk," he said. "If that's okay with you. Seriously, you can say no, and I'll just leave."

Silver shrugged noncommittally. "Whatever. It's not like you can make me feel any worse."

"Thanks." Gold carefully trudged along the various pokémon and sat down by Silver's side, leaning his back against Snorlax like the boy was doing.

"So…" he started.

"So," Silver repeated, brows burrowing.

Gold sighed. "That was… fucked up."

At that, the redhead actually snorted. And with a sudden alarm, Gold actually realized that he was someone who could cheer up Silver―and when the hell had that happened?

"Yeah, tell me about it," Silver grumbled, pulling a face. "Actually don't. I never want to hear about it. I―fuck―I acted so―"

"You were fine, really," Gold hurried to say. "It's not like anyone could do any better, finding out they have a brother they don't know about."

"It's not that," Silver hissed. "It's not like I didn't suspect something like this… he was a man of many faces and for all I fucking know, there could be many more siblings out there. And I don't care. They don't mean anything to me. It's just―"

"Just what?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't fucking know… I guess, I didn't ever want to meet them. They didn't go through what I did. They were _lucky._"

He fell quiet. A good while passed as Gold searched for words.

"Did you… I mean, don't you think you could gain something?" He finally asked, trying for neutral inquiry.

"Like what―the knowledge that there exists someone who thinks he can relate while never having had to face the world as the son of criminal scum? While having been left to his mother and living a happy normal life. Never knowing your father is better than what I went through."

And okay, Gold might've gotten a little angry at that.

"Hey," he snapped. "It's not like you know that. You think so but you weren't there when the other kids asked about your dad and you had nothing, not even anything bad, to say. You might think it's worse having a terrible father, but the fact is, you got away―yeah, when you look at it, it seems like he left you and that _hurts_, I can only imagine how much, but in the end you must realize that you got away." He bit his lips, repressed emotions flooding to his mind as he continued. "I guess, when you were with him people would avoid you. But in the future, they'll just congratulate you, say that you are so much better than him, that it's great how you escaped and you never have to care about him again. It's not like that if you never knew. Never got to see for yourself whether your dad was good or bad or whatever. People will keep asking and you'll never have anything to say and it's―it's just gonna stay that way."

Silver looked at him oddly, more suspicious than offended.

"Why are you so worked up by this?" He asked. "That doesn't sound like―like _Red_ at all. He at least knew."

He'd talked himself into the corner, Gold realized. He released a breath and grinned, bitterly.

"Yeah," he murmured. "That's cause I was talking about me."

Despite having heard Silver's story, Gold had never told Silver about his own father. Nor had he told Kris. He'd never even mentioned him―it had always been the one thing he didn't want to talk about. Not because he was a private person, not by far, but because to this day it still hurt.

"Oh," Silver said. "Okay."

Not 'sorry' or anything of the sort. He knew being sorry meant nothing, and that―that was what finally gave Gold the courage he needed to tell the story.

His mum and dad had been happily married, his dad having finally convinced his mum to move into New Bark once his mum had gotten pregnant. It would be good for the kid, he'd apparently said, not growing up in the city with his mum working all day and night. And probably it would've been, if his dad had stopped working too, just for a while, and hadn't gotten himself killed.

He'd been a cop―the curious contrast of him being a dead cop's kid and Silver being a live criminal's kid made him smirk without humor. During one of the first Rocket attacks in Johto he'd gotten hurt―bad. They hadn't gotten him to hospital on time.

So Gold was born 4 months later, without a dad and with his mum heartbroken. She'd gotten over it, eventually, had _had _to, for Gold's sake, but Gold―he'd never had anything to get over. And just like he'd envisioned in his earlier outburst, he'd been lost without the answers to the questions people kept asking. To him, it was better, even knowing that your dad was somewhere out there, being a huge asshole, than not to have him exist at all.

Silver, with his own scars and pains, took it all in without a hitch. He didn't laugh, didn't offer his pity, just listened. And that made it a bit better, somehow.

"I know you feel betrayed," Gold said as he was finishing his story. "But you know it's not Red who betrayed you. He had to cope with his dad in his own way, just like you had to cope with yours. And your experiences are not the same, your ideas of your dad are not the same, but he's still there, as a link. And I just… fuck, please don't get angry at me for saying this, I think you'll make a mistake if you won't acknowledge it, now that you're aware."

Silver scoffed, but he was smirking, a bit. "Not like I asked for your advice."

Gold grinned weakly. "You didn't tell me to stuff it, either."

Silver grunted. Then, after a moment, he bumped his shoulder against Gold's. "Thanks."

"For what?" He asked.

"I don't know. For telling me, I guess. For the advice I didn't ask for."

Gold chuckled and bumped him back. "You're welcome."

They shared a look and in a second they were both laughing.

"Some Christmas this is," Gold wheezed. "I mean, is there anyone on this planet without daddy issues? I happen to know for a fact that Green hasn't seen his in years, either."

"Really?" Silver asked, his snickers dying down. "Damn, I guess need to apologize to him too."

"Oh, yeah, he told me to say he's sorry. He wouldn't have shouted if he'd known why you lashed out. He's just easily riled up. Like you. It's kinda cute."

A second passed as he realized what he just said.

"I mean," he cried out, a rare flush creeping on his cheeks. Silver was blinking at him, turning a bit pink as well. "Fuck, forget I said that. It's late, I'll say funny things when I'm tired."

"Okay," Silver mumbled, but the flush on his cheeks took a long while to die down.

"Let's just go up, yeah?" Gold offered, climbing to his feet.

Silver followed suite, and after the final pats and tickles to lovesick pokémon, they were soon on their way back to the living area. It was surprisingly quiet, the fire having burned down to embers. Red and Green where nowhere to be seen. Then, a muffled sound could be heard from the direction of the kitchen.

The two younger trainers shared a look, and headed towards the sound. The kitchen was a bit out of eyesight, blocked by a natural formation of rocks. As soon as they'd rounded it though, they were shocked to a still.

Red and Green had, apparently, gone to the kitchen to refill the teapot. That much could be deduced by the unoffending kettle still hanging on Red's arm. Yet, from the way the black-haired man was flushed against Green, their lips locked in kiss that could've put newlyweds to shame, it was clear that the original purpose of the trip had been long since forgotten.

Green's hand were on the slightly shorter male's waist, massaging circles just slightly under his shirt. Red's free hand was tangled in Green's hair, tilting the man's head in whichever angle he saw fit. Gold stood frozen by the sight, watching the pair with a morbid fascination. He'd never thought two guys kissing could look so―_so _natural. Like, he'd never had anything against it, but―Red pulled on Green's hair and the man made a sound in his throat, his hands dipping lower, playing with Red's waistband―and _okay,_ it was officially the time to flee the fuck out of there.

Gold grabbed Silver's arm and backed away, until they were safely out of sight. His face was flaming, his throat dry and he felt―_fuck_, he felt kinda hot. There was probably something _wrong_ with him.

Suddenly, he realized he hadn't let go of Silver. He dropped his arm like it was on fire―for all he was feeling it just as well might've been. Silver looked up and for the briefest of moments their eyes locked. Gold swore he could see the same kind of guilty, hot and bothered emotion mirrored in them, before they both quickly averted their eyes.

"So, uh… you wanna go back, grab a sleeping bag and sleep by the 'mons?" Gold asked awkwardly, his voice sounding far too low for his own ears.

"Sounds good," Silver mumbled, swirling around proceeding to do just that without another word. Actually, the next time either of them opened their mouths was when they were both tucked in their sleeping bags, with pokémon curled by their sides.

"Silver?" Gold asked across the wall of fur between him and the other boy.

"Yeah?" came the slightly groggy response. He might've been falling asleep, already.

"Let's never mention this, yeah?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the boy said sleepily.

Gold grinned. "Good. And oh, Silver?" His only answer was a hum. "Since you said Lance is dumb, maybe we could train together for some time? I think it could be cool."

There was silence for some time, Gold actually fearing that the boy had already fallen asleep.

"Sure," the reply finally came. "Now shut up."

Gold fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

-x-

**A/N:** That was the second part, one more to go!

I just have to say, I've always wanted to write a fic where Silver and Red were brothers―or half-brothers, as in this. After all, theories about Giovanni being Red's dad have existed since the first games came out. So while I'm usually a fan of Silver having gray eyes, I figured making his eyes red (as they are in HGSS) would give him and Red a little more family resemblance. I enjoyed writing this part immensely―and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it, too.

Oh, and to the lovely guest who left a review on the first part: thank you so much for you kind words! It really filled _my_ soul with happiness to hear you enjoy my work.


	3. Part III

**A Very Silvery Christmas - Chapter III**

-x-

The next morning, Gold woke up bright and early―at least he thought he did, until he realized that Silver and his sleeping bag were nowhere to be seen. He pulled a shirt over his head, gathered his belongings and sauntered up in search of breakfast. He found Green by the fireside, brushing his eevee, and a memory he'd rather forget from the previous night pushed into the forefront of his mind, making him flush and stutter slightly.

"G-good morning," he mumbled, willing away the unwanted images. "Is there a chance for some breakfast or did you eat it all?"

"Almost," Green replied easily. "Check on with Red in the kitchen, he just left with the leftovers."

Great, the kitchen… just where he wanted to go with memories of last night's…_ incident_ fresh on his mind. Still, he padded over, rationalizing that he just needed to face his fears and realize there was nothing to be embarrassed about. What Red and Green did in their alone time was none of his business. He'd just happened to walk in on the wrong moment and he needed to zip his mouth and let it slip. No need to bother the guys―if they wanted to talk, they would.

Gold rounded the corner and, very much like on the previous time, froze.

Red was there, like Green had said, as was Silver. And right at that very moment, the older boy was giving the younger what seemed to be a comforting hug. It lasted about five seconds more, as Gold stood still and watched, before the redhead pulled away, muttering about something or other. Red's hand lingered on his shoulder before dropping, his expression somehow appeased.

_Well, what do you know_, Gold thought, they'd really gone and patched things over. Probably not completely, but the start was promising, to say the least―especially concerning Silver's usual, stubborn approach to these kinds of things.

When it seemed like no more brotherly affection was going to be happening then and there, Gold cleared his throat as unawkwardly as he could manage in the present situation, making his presence known. Silver's head snapped towards him fast as a lightning, but once he'd identified the intruder as Gold he seemed to relax a bit, nodding tersely in greeting before scuffling off past him.

"I see you figured things out, then. Hooray for small miracles," Gold grinned at Red. "Any breakfast?"

The dark-haired boy hummed in good humor and passed him a large-ish wheat bun he nearly failed to catch. "There should be some tea left."

Gold spotted the kettle to his side and fetched himself a mug. In all honesty, the drink was more than slightly lukewarm, but he paid it no mind as he bit off a generous chunk of his bun and gulped it down with a mouthful of tea. After he'd gobbled half of the bread he turned to Red once more.

"You uh… What did he say?" he asked. "I mean, not that it concerns me, really. I'm just curious."

Red threw him a look. Gold, for some reason completely beyond even his own understanding, blushed.

"I really don't wanna ask him," he defended. "Silver's too secretive for his own good."

Red accepted the answer with a barely there smirk. "He apologized," he said simply. "Said we needed to… to catch up. And while his dad might've been bad, he doesn't want to think everything connected to him is."

"Oh," Gold wasn't sure what to think, "well, that's―that's good."

It was more than good―even if that had been what the boy was supposedly going to do the previous night when they'd come up, Gold had never in his wildest dreams imagined it would go so smoothly. Perhaps it had something to do with Red himself, and the way he reacted to conflict. The silent boy was always so peaceful―a calming presence―and though he spoke little he seemed to always get his point across. Silver too had listened to him, the previous night, and that in itself was already rare.

Perhaps it wasn't such an unimaginable thought, them becoming as close as brothers should be.

Red hummed in agreement, a knowing glint in his eyes. "You're good for him, yes."

"I― uh, yeah," Gold muttered lamely, a bit flustered but more than a little pleased. _Proud_, even. He could help Silver and that's all he ever wanted to do for the boy. It was nice to know it was working. "I guess you'll want to spend time together then?"

Red looked thoughtful. "There are things we both need to do before that."

"Oh… like what?"

He shrugged, an unreadable expression on his face. "Things."

Gold figured wisely that_ that_ was the end of that conversation.

"Sure." He swallowed the last bite of his bun. "I'll go get properly dressed then."

He sauntered off, passing the fire place and Green on his way to find the bag he'd forgotten down. The brunet informed him that Silver had gone out for a bit, but before Gold could panic about his rival having fled, he noticed that the other's own bag was still stood up next to a pile of logs. With a once more relieved mindset he went down to find some way to pass the time. A while―and a lot of mulling on the events of the past few days on Gold's part―later, Green came looking for him. By that point, Gold had nearly finished feeding his pokémon and was thinking of taking Typhlosion out for a short trek in the area.

"Yo," the gym leader greeted, plopping himself down next to Red's ever-resting snorlax. It was quite popular as a backrest, it seemed.

"Hey," Gold replied. "What's up? Is Silver back already?"

Green raised a brow, but didn't question why that was the most important piece of information he needed at that point. Gold bit his lip to keeping himself from looking embarrassed―he would ponder about his newfound fixation with Silver at some later time. Possibly never. That was probably good.

"Yeah, he's back. Me and Red were thinking about climbing up to the peak. The weather's fine enough and it's kind of a tradition for us. The view up there is fuckin' _amazing_, just so you know." He made wild gestures with his hands to emphasize the _amazing_-ness.

"Sure, I'm up for it," Gold replied with a laugh. "Was just thinking of heading out for a walk, myself."

"Great," Green smirked. "The princess is coming too―_ahh_, shit. I was supposed to stop calling him that." He shook his head. "I guess it really pisses him off."

The younger snorted. "You don't say?"

"Yeah, well… he actually came and said he was sorry for overreacting, so I'm on my best behavior now, to live up to it."

Huh, it seemed like Silver really was having a good morning. Gold grinned. "How's that working out for you?"

"The older pulled a face. "Well―y'know how they say. If at first you don't succeed, try again. And then if you fail, just quit, cause there's no need to be a damn fool about it."

Gold raised both his eyebrows. "I don't know who says that."

Green shrugged and pushed himself to his feet. "Me neither. C'mon, we need to leave soon to make it there during daylight."

"Yeah, yeah…" Gold muttered and climbed up, calling his pokémon to their balls and following in his leave.

-x-

Even though Gold had thought Red's cave was really freaking high up on the mountain, it took them over an hour to get to the summit. It probably wasn't that long of a trek in distance, but the terrain was pretty rough and there were no trails whatsoever. More than a couple of times they had to hoist themselves up a cliff, or climb over large, snow-covered rocks. In the end though, it was worth it. Because the view that opened beneath them from the peak of Mt. Silver looked absolutely breathtaking.

"Wow," Gold whispered, walking closer to the edge. He was suddenly very glad he wasn't normally afraid of heights, because even he felt a bit shaky seeing how far down the surface was.

"I know, right," Green muttered quietly. He must've seen the view at least a few times before, but he seemed to be just as taken by it. Gold didn't really blame him―there simply was no getting used to something like this. "See those buildings in the distance? That's Viridian City. Pallet's hidden from view by the slope and Pewter by Viridian forest. And that trail of smoke above the sea is from Cinnabar, you can see the island if you squint."

"I never thought―I mean, you could see barely anything from the cave's level," Gold exclaimed. "This is just… there are no words."

"The mountain isn't that steep up until a point," Red explained. "Only the very peak rises above the rest."

Gold hummed contemplatively. "Can you see in the other directions as clearly?"

"Sure," Green answered. "Go see if you can spot New Bark or Blackthorn behind the bay. They should be visible."

Gold turned and headed to the other side of the summit. He found Silver there, staring into the distance.

"Hey," Gold breathed. It was the first they'd talked that day, without the other two in their immediate vicinity, and somehow he felt a bit nervous. It dissipated though, when the other made a soft sound in acknowledgment.

True to Green's words, after a moment of searching, Gold figured the location of New Bark on the coast, windmills splitting the sky above it like a crown. He grinned, glancing at Silver. The boy wore a mixed expression―somehow simultaneously sad and content.

"What're you looking at?" Gold asked. "Blackthorn?"

The redhead shook his head. "I was just wondering… the world seems huge. We can see just a small piece of Johto here and there's so many more continents out there. That's… well," he paused as if unsure whether he should continue. Eventually he mumbled quietly. "There're are places out there where they don't know me through my dad. Places I can have for _myself_."

Gold's breath hitched in his throat. "Y-yeah…" he whispered after a moment. "We're gonna see all of it someday. You don't have to worry about the world not being enough."

Silver turned and gave him a strange, long look. Then he―he _smiled_.

"You can well believe I'll beat you sooner rather than later, but I'm holding onto _that_ promise."

Gold laughed. "You do that, Silver."

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, gazing out for a moment longer, only to be interrupted by Red. The older male walked silently to their side, Pikachu on his trail, nodding to Silver before addressing Gold.

"I'd like that battle now, if you don't mind," he said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

Gold, on the other hand, felt his stomach do a triple-somersault. "_Now_?" He cried out. "Right here?" Red nodded. "What if the pokémon fall over the edge―wait, did you even bring your party along?"

The silent man wore an amused expression but didn't bother replying. Of course he'd brought his party pokémon with him. It was Red, for Mew's sake, and though Gold had spent merely a few days with him he already knew Red never went anywhere without his pokémon. He was just surprised. And nervous. And―

Excited.

Suddenly, he laughed. "Yeah, why not. I'll battle you."

"Six versus six," Red said. "Normal rules."

"Got it," Gold grinned and moved to a better position so that sufficient space was laid out between them. Then he nodded to Silver, who'd moved out of the way. "Silver, could you―?"

He barely had time to grab his first pokéball before the redhead clapped his hands twice, loud and clear―the usual sign outside official facilities for a battle to begin.

Surprisingly enough, Red's first pokémon was his pikachu, who leapt right into battle from Red's shoulder. Gold's own pick was Ambipom, one of his fastest pokémon with more than a few trick up its figurative sleeve. The first matchup was going to be all about speed and technical battle, it seemed.

Red's pikachu got the first hit, striking with speed that could be avoided. Gold yelled out his commands and Ambipom replied swiftly, astonishing Pikachu and hitting again in quick succession with double slap. After only two hits, Pikachu flung Ambipom off with a hard swipe of its tail. It was definitely a critical, as Ambipom struggled in getting back to its feet, only barely avoiding an electrified full-body tackle from the mouse.

Gold made a decision in a split second, calling out fast and Ambipom scooped snow from the ground, flicking it straight at Pikachu. It wasn't as efficient as sand, but blinded the electric type just enough for Ambipom to get up close and tickle its foe into defenselessness. Though, it didn't quite work out like Gold had envisioned―even in the throes of such merciless onslaught, Red's pikachu was _sharp_. It called down a single bolt of lightning, zapping its opponent well into unconsciousness.

Gold swore under his breath and called the monkey back. It wasn't like he'd expected any less, but Red's pokémon were on a whole new level. His match with Green had been a tough one and he was immediately reminded of that. Well, he _had _come up on top with that one in the end―maybe he had a chance as of yet. The battle was still young.

"Next ones," came Green's voice from the sidelines. He'd joined Silver in watching the match without Gold even noticing. "Prepare yourselves."

Again, two claps.

Gold sent out Sunflora, immediately giving out the command to set up a defensive barrier. Only then did he take note of Red's pokémon of choice. It was Blastoise. Gold grimaced. He had been hoping for Lapras―the ice moves Sunflora could take just fine, but Blastoise's defenses were much higher. It could withdraw and endure, hit after hit until Sunflora was too exhausted to move.

Well, he would have to try harder, then.

Raising the light screen had been a good move, since from Blastoise the battle begun with a blast of blizzard let loose with a flick of Red's wrist. Sunflora dug its roots into the snow, through it and to the ground beneath, drawing energy from the nutrients within. Then, at Gold's signal, it blasted an energy draining attack at Blastoise. Just like Gold had envisioned, the tortoise withdrew into its shell and took the blasts, releasing only minimal amounts of its energy.

Even worse was the fact that hidden inside its shell the blastoise was nevertheless capable of attacking, using its twin cannons to reflect the light of the sun in a vicious flashing beam. Although the attack wasn't very effective against Sunflora, it was enough to wear down its defenses. In a final desperate attempt to turn the tables, Gold called out for a devastating petal dance, only to get poor Sunflora confused. And that was when Blastoise finally unleashed its power in an attack, just once―a beautiful, clean knockout.

As he recalled the flower pokémon, Gold felt nervous and, admittedly, jealous. It took him a few more calming breaths to regain his composure, the steely reserve that had saved him even in the tightest pinch before. Like Blastoise, he had endured. He had taken a few hits, a few losses―it was time to strike back and turn the game into his victory. With renewed energy he picked a pokéball from his belt and waited for the claps.

This time, thing immediately looked good for him. His choice was Quagsire, his trusty water salamander, while Red had put his faith on Lapras, whom Gold had earlier hoped for. Grinning, Gold immersed himself in the battle, yelling command after command, until finally only Quagsire was standing. He'd made his comeback.

He high-fived the water-type for a battle well fought and returned it into its ball. From the sidelines Green offered him a thumbs up and Silver an impressed nod. Gold couldn't help laughing softly.

"Okay, next!" Green yelled once more. "Get ready!"

The sky had turned slightly gray and the wind had picked up at some point into their battle. It was looking like it was gonna start snowing soon. They needed to hurry.

Red sent forward his Venusaur, while against the large beast was Gold's Noctowl, whom he'd caught right outside New Bark on his first day of journeying. The grass type was a tough opponent, blowing out powders and spitting venom, most of which the agile bird pokémon avoided. Once though, it got caught by Venusaur's ivy vines, suffering a blow straight-on and rendering it unable to attack for a moment. But Gold held onto his nerve, didn't falter, and in the end his tactful commands and a final breezing gust brought Noctowl its victory.

The next match didn't go as smoothly, with Gold's Sudowoodo against Red's massive Snorlax. Nevertheless, Gold held his ground well enough, until Snorlax's final blizzard blew the rock-type away. Gold called back the unmoving pokémon with grave thoughts. It was time for the final match. With Red's three wins against his two, there was no way to win but he could tie―and against the rumored "best trainer ever" that was more than enough for him. He would give it his all and if that wasn't enough, well―there was always next time. He'd train with Silver and come back stronger.

He nodded across the field to Red.

"Give it your best!" He yelled, gripping his final pokéball and grinning.

Red's answering smile was felt more than seen, especially with the snowflakes that started falling, slowly at first but soon heavily. Through the wind, Gold barely heard the clap once, twice, and―

Typhlosion rose with a mighty roar flaring the flames on its back. The fire danced around it, swirls of blue and white, and in its eyes Gold could see his own determination mirrored. He smiled and fell back. Like Red and his Pikachu, he was going to let the beast battle as it wished―leave his chances at the hands of the pokémon he most trusted.

On the opposite side, Red's starter, Charizard, soared up and released a mighty pillar of flame into the sky, momentarily casting the whole area in a red and yellow glow. The flamethrower could no doubt be seen miles away. Then the firedrake dove down, gliding towards Typhlosion, who met the charge adamantly on its feet like a proud badger warrior. The clash of the beasts sent snow flying all around them, some of it melting upon the heat of the impact and raining over the spectators in a warm drizzle.

The pokémon broke off with a loud cry from Charizard as it was flung away, immediately hit by a blast of fire. The next blast though, was halted by strong wing strokes that sent forward a gust of air fast enough to land a hit on Typhlosion. It was followed by a quick succession of hits and airborne attacks, all avoided and retaliated by bursts of fire and the occasional rain of swift, shimmering stars.

The battle continued like this for a while at somewhat of a standstill, neither side managing to land much of a blow. Then though, after dodging one of Charizard's air strikes, Typhlosion sent flying a shower of swift that by a stroke of luck hit Charizard in its left wing. The dragon howled in pain and spiraled down, unable to maintain altitude with its damaged wing.

Gold felt his heart leap, but immediately afterwards he realized with a painful clarity just how premature his happiness had been. The injured dragon lashed out with twice as much vigor, landing hits more often now. All Typhlosion could do was duck and hop, avoiding the blasts of fire and pulsing attacks of dragon breath. Yet, the smart creature it was, Typhlosion was gradually nearing the dragon and once it was close enough it leapt with a magnificent roar, releasing an inferno all around it.

But―as much as Gold found it hard to believe any pokémon could've survived an attack of that magnitude so close up―it was not the end. Charizard flapped open its wings, which had shielded it from the edge of Typhlosion's attack and released a glowing pulse.

From that distance, there was no way for Typhlosion to avoid it. The attack hit the badger square in its chest, toppling it over and sending it rolling backwards by force. The beast groaned, its flames going out and steam rising from its unmoving figure. Gold's heart sagged and he prepared to call back his starter when―

a flame lit up.

And against all odds, defying all notions on the toughness of pokémon, Typhlosion stirred and rose. It stood a little crouched and it's back flames wavered and flickered, but the fire in its eyes burned bright. Charizard cried out and released a pillar of flame from its mouth as large as the one in the beginning of their match. Typhlosion roared and retaliated in kind, the two flamethrowers crashing into each other, merging, burning bright and melting all the snow around them, until―

Typhlosion growled and stepped forward, pushing his flamethrower against Charizard's once, twice, many times until finally it had swallowed his flamethrower at whole. And then, right then, he released all his power, sending forward a flame wall so high and wide there was no escape from it. Charizard was engulfed in flame and once the fire had faded, all the flames died out, the dragon was on the ground and Typhlosion still standing.

Gold let out a shaky breath he had been holding, tears welling in his eyes against his will.

"T-Typhlosion…" he called out gently.

The beast's ear twitched and slowly, very slowly, it turned to face its trainer. Gold held the gaze of the fire-type all while he walked to it, circling his arms around its middle. The typhlosion groaned and winced slightly, having suffered notable injuries itself, but brought its paws to hold Gold close in response.

"You did, buddy," the boy muttered against his partner's soft fur. "You did it."

He spent a long while there, safe in the warm embrace and crying against Typhlosion's chest, but eventually the moment had to end. Reluctantly, Gold pulled back and shuddered.

"You're in no climbing state now," he whispered to the pokémon. "I'm gonna put you back into your ball, so sleep tight while we get down from here."

The beast growled in understanding and disappeared into the red light of the pokéball. Gold took a deep breath, and turned―finally facing his friends.

Red came to him first, offering his hand.

"Good battle," he said, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

Gold's own grin was so wide it almost hurt his cheeks. "Yeah, no kidding."

After that was over with, Green jogged to their side. He offered Gold an impressed whistle.

"Damn, kiddo," he said, ruffling Gold's hair under his cap. "I knew from experience you were good, but you've got one hell of a fighter in ya. You and that Typhlosion of yours… what a pair!"

Gold just laughed. Silver joined them then, smiling almost a bit shyly.

"Congratulations," he said, offering him his hand like Red. "I guess you've no match left, now."

"Are you kidding me?" Gold dragged him by his arm into a hug. "This is just the beginning. I've got so much left to do, so many battles left to fight―I wanna keep going. That's what you always say, right? Just keep going, just keep getting better until you're the best. Well, I ain't the best yet."

Silver smirked against his shoulder and pushed him off halfheartedly. "That much is true. You're still as lame as ever."

Gold laughed some more.

"Well, I hate to be the voice of reason," Green said then, "but we really oughta be getting back down. It's stopped snowing, for a moment, but it's gonna pick up soon enough."

"We should fly," Silver replied. "Your pidgeot can carry two, right?"

Green nodded. "Sure."

"Then you and Red get on his back and me and Gold take my crobat, and we'll be down in no time at all."

With that, the redhead called out his bat pokémon who obediently landed on the ground, waiting to be mounted. Silver got on with no trouble, turning to throw Gold an expectant look.

"Well, you coming?" he asked.

Gold shuffled on his feet, climbing onto Crobat's back behind Silver. He could find no place to hold onto, until Silver unceremoniously grabbed his aimlessly wandering hands and tied them around his own waist.

"Just hold still," he grumbled, but the tips of his ears were red. Gold swallowed and tried not to lean against him too much.

He failed.

-x-

Back at Red's cave the four of them drank a celebratory round of tea and ate all of the leftover cake. In every accord, the mood was much improved from that of the previous night. Afterwards, Red and Gold nursed their pokémon back to health the best they could with their own abilities and healing items. They would have to take them to the pokécenter in the near future―just to be sure.

Right before bedtime, Red suddenly seemed fidgety―so much so, that it caught everyone's attention. He wandered seemingly aimlessly, picking stuff up and moving it, collecting some items in his arms and eventually stuffing it in an old, worn-out backpack.

"Hey," Green called out from his place on a bedroll. "What's the matter with ya?"

"Are you planning on going somewhere?" Gold asked eyeing the backpack on the mattress next to his.

"I―" Red started, then fell silent and paused his step.

"Yeah?" Gold prompted.

The older took a deep breath. "I'm gonna leave this place."

His answer was deafening silence.

"_What?_" Green finally croaked after what seemed like an eternity. "You serious?"

Red nodded. "I've thought it through."

"But―well, fucking finally, but you've gotta say―why _now_? After all these years?"

For a few seconds Red looked like he struggled with words. Then he was saved by Silver's sudden words.

"Is it… because of me?" he asked quietly.

Red nodded. Then he cleared his throat. "Like you said in the morning, you've been facing your life eyes open from the beginning. It's about time I do the same." A small, remorseful smile was playing on his lips. "I need to be someone you can look up to, too."

Silver's eyes widened.

Gold and Green, on the other hand, shared a look. They both understood how huge this was, how there was such a big chance of it blowing in Red's face and how he would probably never be the same if it did. But it was worth the risk if Red wanted it―and it seemed like he did, not only for Silver's sake but for himself as well, that much Gold had gathered from his earlier talks with the older trainer. Red had been opposed to fame, opposed to being the center of all attention, but there was only so much seclusion and silence one could take, only so long one could put off his plans for the future for fear of being overwhelmed, and it was about time he started taking the steps towards making his life better.

In Gold's opinion, Red, more than anyone, deserved to have the same fun every trainer, no matter how good or special, had by traveling with friends and pokémon and visiting new places and meeting new faces and just living without a care―somehow finding yourself something to live for along the way.

"Well, that's great!" Green drawled. "I bet this will shut Leaf up for at last, let's say, three months. Maybe two. Ahh, I can't wait for that blessed silence!"

"I bet your mum will be so happy," Gold added, because honestly, despite actually understanding Red's reasons perfectly well, he'd still sympathized with Delia Pavot a lot. Her resilient optimism about Red's fate had been one of the main reasons he'd finally, for real, decided to come looking for the lost champion. He guessed that by being close with his own mum, he could really recognize what the woman was feeling. And he sorely hoped that by being alive and well and actually _present_ from then on Red could make up for his absence to the poor lady. She would welcome and forgive him in any case―that was what mothers did.

Red hummed and made no comment. Silver too remained silent and his face was flushed for at least half an hour afterwards―Gold guessed that he must've been touched more deeply than he was comfortable sharing with them. Despite the shock of it all, he'd found Red, so it was fine. Already they'd both left such a positive impact on one another, and while it was impossible to say what the future would bring, it looked promising enough.

Gold and Green talked excitedly far into the night, until they were kicked into silence by an irritated and sleepy Silver. In the morning, they all ate some breakfast, packed their bags full―leaving most of the furniture in the cave for some lucky traveler to find, although there really weren't many of them on Mt. Silver―and headed out. The morning air was crisp and bright, a cool breeze licking their faces as a reminder of the previous night's snowstorm.

Traveling down in company, Gold found out, was much more pleasant than traveling up by himself. It contained less near death experiences as well, so he counted it as a plus.

By midday they'd found their way to the pokécenter at the root of the mountain. The nurse there recognized all of them by face, seeing to Red and Gold's pokémon while the four trainers helped themselves to some lunch. As they were leaving, she wished them a very merry Christmas and good luck for the following year. They returned the sentiment fullheartedly.

Outside though, came the tough part―the goodbyes. Red and Green were heading together towards Indigo Plateau and from there to Viridian and Pallet, but Gold and Silver―well, Gold didn't know. He kinda wanted to keep hanging with his rival, but he wasn't sure what Silver wanted.

No time to beat around the bush any longer, he turned to the redhead with every intention of asking him about his plans, only to be interrupted before he even began by Silver himself.

"So, you still wanna go to Blackthorn with me?"

Gold gaped.

Silver snorted. "Close your mouth or I'll take back my offer. Idiot."

"Yes!" Gold cried out, grinning wide. "I do!"

"What," Green cut through to their conversation. "You getting' married over here?"

Silver flushed slightly. "Fuck off, Green."

Green snickered. "In due time."

Red appeared by his side, nodding first to Silver.

"I'll contact you," he said. He didn't say where or when or where or how or why, but Silver seemed to understand.

"Yeah, okay," he muttered and let his gaze drop.

Apparently pleased, Red then turned towards Gold.

"Let's battle again some time."

Gold grinned.

"Yeah, definitely," he replied. "I intend to actually beat you, next time."

Red smiled, but said nothing. It was just the sort of silent moment after which they would all start talking about leaving and then say their goodbyes and head off. Gold didn't want it to end―not like that.

"Guys, you―you should come over to my place on New Year's Eve, all of you," he blurted out, his mouth forming the words before his brain had even caught up with what was being said. "I mean, my mum wouldn't mind and it would be fun to hang out again."

Red blinked. Then turned to ask Green silently for his opinion. Green, for his part, looked like he was considering it.

"Yeah, sure," he finally said. "I'll need to think of an excuse for Daisy and Gramps, but other than that I don't see why not. We'll bring Leaf along, too."

"I can invite my friend Lyra… and Kris," Gold offered, glancing at Silver, who seemed like he was thinking about whether to pick up on the offer or not.

"Fine," the redhead agreed. "Not like I had better plans."

"Great!" Gold grinned. "We'll see you guys on New Years, then."

Red nodded and Green waved and just like that they were off.

Gold shuffled his feet and turned towards Silver, a mischievous smile on his lips.

"Silver," he said much too gravely for him to have good intentions.

"Gold," Silver replied in a warning tone with his eyebrows raised in question.

Gold took a deep breath and prepared himself mentally.

"The last one in Blackthorn pays for dinner!" he yelled and released his noctowl in a flurry, hopping onto the Bird's back and speeding off into the sky. Behind him he heard Silver curse and shout angrily. But he wasn't angry―not really―and simply knowing that made Gold feel a bit lighthearted. Silver was definitely not angry at him, annoying and snappish and odd as he may be―he was still Gold's friend. And just like Silver was now following Gold, Gold would follow Silver, always, wherever he may go.

Like Red with his newfound courage, they had many more places to visit, many more faces to meet and many more plans to make. The future was open like the sky on that beautiful Christmas day―silvery clouds lit up by the golden rays of the sun.

-x-

**End**

-x-

**A/N:** It's finished... I'm really happy. I'd like to thank everyone who's bothered to read this story, and even more so those who've left and continue to leave me feedback. It's always appreciated and makes one feel like it's worth it to keep writing. :')

Now, I know this story sort of ends with a note hinting at a sequel. But I must admit that I haven't planned one, and so it's unlikely I'll get to writing it in the near future. As it happens, I'm next planning on publishing a story about Red and Green travelling to Hoenn, so maybe some of you will stick around for that. And perhaps, I'll get the continuation for this done for next year. In the mean time, I wish you all a happy New Year, and once more―thank you!


End file.
